Transmission mechanism for looms



Jan. 15, 1924. 1,480,621

A. J. LEE

TRANSMISSION MECHANISM FOR LOOMS File J ne 21. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet li/micwjiee k/ W more Jan. 15, 1924. 1,480,621

A. J. LEE

TRANSMISSION MECHANISM FOR LOOKS Filed June 21 1922 Q 2 Sheets-Sheet 2awuemloc @WkQg4 Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

DREW J. LEE. OF INDIAN, SOUTH CAROLINA.

TRANSMISSION MECHAIJISH FOB LOOKS.

Application fled June 81, 1882. Serial Io. 569,844.

To all who'mit may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW J. LEE, a citizen of United States, residingat Inman, in the county of Spartanburg, State of South Carolina, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Transmission Mechanismfor Looms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a transmission mechanism foruse in connection with looms articularly of the conventional and wellknown types whereby motion is communicated from the drive or crank shaftto the cam shaft which ordinarily carries the cams or equivalent meanswhereby motion in timed relation is conveyed to the picker stick, theharness mechanism, the stop motion and the like, and wherein adjustmentunder ordinary conditions is necessary from time to time to take up lostmotion incident to wear particularly in the elements of the gearingrepresenting the transmission mechanism in order to prevent ham- ,merinand shock and consequent excessive straining and frequently breakage ofthe parts; and more particularly to provide a transmission mechanismwherein the adjust ment necessary to maintain a proper timed relation inthe operation of the parts and to compensate for wear which isunavoidable in machines of this type may be accomplished in the elementsof the gearing to avoid the necessity of modifying the positions orrelations of the elements which are carried res ectively by the drivingand cam shafts; an further-more to provide a transmission mechanismhaving an increased durability and usefulness as compared with devicesfor a similar purpose heretofore employed, with a view to economy inconstruction and maintenance and to the end that the break down of themachine, incident, for example, to the fracture of the crank shaft dueto lost motion in the. propulsion of the shuttle may be avoided; andwith these and related objects in view, the invention consists in aconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts 'of which a preferredembodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein;

F gure 1 is an end view in outline of a loom equipped with atransmission mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a front view of the same.

F igure 3 is a sectional View of the up er or crank shaft carriedelements of the mac anism taken in the plane of the axis of the camshaft.

Figure 4 is a similar view of the lower or cam shaft carried elements ofthe mechanism.

Figure 5 is a detail view of the crank shaft gear member.

Figure 6 is a similar view of the hub of the crank shaft gear member.

Figure 7 is a sectional view with the parts separated of an arrangementof the crank shaft carried elements wherein the hand wheel is attachedto the outer side of the gear as when the drive pulley, in accordancewith the construction of relatively old types of looms, is arranged atthe opposite or rear end of the crank shaft, as distinguished from thelater types wherein it is preferred to place the pulley at the front endof the shaft to minimize the vibration and torsional strain applied tothe crank shaft.

As in the ordinary practice the transmission mechanism whereby motion iscommunicated from the crank shaft 10 to the cam shaft 11, consistsessentially of the intermeshing gears 12 and 13 respectively carried bysaid shafts with the latter having a number of teeth which is a multipleof those of the former and in the present instance, as ordinarily, istwice that of the former, so that the crank shaft gear rotates twice foreach revolution of the cam shaft gear. In the ordinary practice andunder the conditions obtaining in the operation of devices of this typethere are usually four teeth of each gear in meshing or in engagingrelation when the rincipal strain comes on the said gears inci out tothe actuation of the picker stick 14 in its shuttle propelling movementby the cam 15, which as above indicated is carried by the cam shaft, andobviously when the crank shaft gear rotates twice for each revolution ofthe cam shaft gear, and

the latter is subjected to the shuttle operating strain once during eachrevolution the same four teeth of the crank shaft gear will be subjectedto the strain due to the shuttle operation repeatedly during theoperation of the machine with the result as is well known to loomoperatives that the engaged teeth are subjected to a wear which isdisproportinnate to the other parts oi the gear and Within acomparatively short time are reduced to such an extent as to permit oflost motion which involves a jar or shot-k, caus ing an objectionablestraining oi the mechanism and frequently a breakage of the crank shaftor a breakage of the'reduceti teeth and therefore the destructiim of thedamaged gear so far as further utility is concerned, The worn teeth aretherefore unsuitable for use at the moment for cornmunicating shuttlemotion to the picker stick but are not worn to an extent rendering themuseless in communicating motion from one gear to the other; as when notsubjected to the strain incident to the propul sion of the shuttle theseworn teeth are suit able for maintaining a continuous cinnniuniration ofmotion from one gear to the other.

It therefore becomes desirable to provide means whereby the parts ofthe. mechanism may be adjusted from time to time to bring ditlcrcnt setsot gear teeth into meshing relation at the moment of communicatingshuttle propelling motion to the picker stir ln and various means havebeen ciaployed heretofore for this purpose ineiodiflg the adjustment ofthe cams and the znl iust ment of the gears. The adjustment oi the rainsis objectionable for the reasons that they are subject to slipping ordisarrangeinent after liming been placed in the adjusted positions. withthe result that serious injury to the loom may be incurred, and theadjustment of the gears as heretofore suggested is objectionable byreason of the tact that the means for keying them to the sliafls arediflicuit to remove and frequently cannot he removed withoutinvoiviogthe fracture of the In this coi'iner-tion it has also been proposed toprovide for an adjustment of the rim portion of the crank sha it carriedgear with respect to the shaft. but only under conditions providing torthe utilization of a comparatively small number of the teeth of thegear, and under conditions necessitating a. special construction of gearas distinguished from the ;stock forms commonly used in this connectionand adapted by slight modification to perform all of the requisitefunctions.

In the present construction the crank shaft carried gear 12 is of theordinary conventional or stock form having the rim 12 which carries thegear teeth. and a web 12 which is provided with a central opening 12, tothe end that a gear made in accordance with the. usual practice may beutiiized in this connection by reason ot the tart. that there isassociated therewith a hub member 1b also provided with a web member 1Tcorresponding in area substantially with the web member of the geartlliti adapted to overlap and lie in corontact with said web member ofthe gear with its periphery in contact with the inner surface of thegear rim so that the huh web housed Within the space bounded by the gearrim fissnin ing then that the gea r l2 which carried by the crank shaftis provided with thirt vtwo teeth, and that four of these teeth as inthe ordinary practice are simultaneoasiy engaged With a correspondingnumber of teeth oi' the gear 13 at the moment of greatest st rain in theoperation of the loom, it pro posed to divide the total number of tie tn5 the gear by four and to provide for series of adjustments of the goal"rim which corre spends with the dividend oi the total number of gearteeth, thirtyawi divided tour which represents the nuinner of teeth:engaged at one time, or in other Wo provide for eight adjustments ofthe tin rim with relation to the hub member or the gear, to the end thatthe hub member may be permanently attached to the crank shaft andallowed to remain in a fixed relation thereto ivhilc piliitil't lnf fthe adjustment the rim member from time to time to be; all of the teeththereof into positii'in for effective operation so that all of the teethi" the drive gear may be utilized sar sivel and. the complete etiiciencyof the g ar utiiiiied before discarding the rim t give place to a newrim member.

To this end the hub web is provided with a series of eight transverse oenings ii for respectivi and sii -cessive r stration with a corres'ioniling number oi ations in the web 12" of the geaiu but in nactive itis pre ftil'ttl to provide the gear weir with alternately arrangedopenings 12 and key studs lJQ so that the conventioinil i'our bolts 18titted with suitabie heads and outs E engaged with the register oifiling rim and, hub webs while the i ,erineiiiate openings ot the hubweb are engaged by the key studs which, being formed integrally with theweb of the rim member. have a strength and rigidity which can be.utiiiried to an aiivanta e in the event that one or more of the. ho tsshould become loosened or disengaged, and which serve to eti'ec such aninterlocking relation between the gear hub and rim as to aft'ord thestability of a solid gear.

The hub member may he keyed in the ordinary practice to the rain shaftbut it is preferred in some instances, as illustrated in the drawing, tosecure the same by threading either the right hand or left. handaccording to the direction of rotation of the shaft, and

mounted upon the shaft adjacent to the innor surface of the car theremay be a hand wheel 19 which is s iown as secured b means of a key 20,the shaft being shoul ered as indicated at 21 at the inner end of thethreaded portion So that strain on the gear serves to force it inwardlyagainst the shoulder and thereby effect a substantial engagement whilermitting of the removal of the gear hub with facility when required.

In the older types of looms it was the practire to arrange thetransmission gearing at the front end of the crank shaft and tocommunicate motion to the shaft by means of a drive pulley or itsequivalent located at the rear end thereof with the incidentdisadvantage that a considerable vibration of the crank shaft results,and in the event of severe strains, as by there being lost motion in thetransmission mechanism, the breakage of the crank shaft adjacent to oneof the cranks frequently resulted, and therefore in the later types oflooms it is preferred to locate the drive pulley at the front of thecrank shaft adjacent to the plane of the transmission gearing, and theconstruction herein disclosed is designed to permit of this arrangementby the extension of the hub member 16 beyond the outer face of the rimweb, so that the drive pulley 22 may be provided with a web 23 having anopening of a diameter suflicient to receive the hub, to the web of whichit may be secured by the same bolts which serve to secure the webs ofthe hub and rim of the ear in their proper relations, the drive pul eythus bein arranged outside or in front of the gear witi the loose pulley24 revolubly mounted upon a slightly reduced portion 25 of the crankshaft outside of the fast pulley. The loose pulle may be secured inplace by means of a co lar 26 fitted on a still further reduced ortion27 of the crank shaft and locke by means of a set screw 28 or any euivalent thereof. As shown the web of t e drive pulley is lightened byhaving cutaway portions. In order to provide for an angular step by stepadjustment by the rim member of the gear it 1s only necessa to displacethe loose pulle and remove t 0 nuts from the bolts in or er to permit ofthe dismounting of the drive pulley to give access to the rim member ofthe gear.

The driven or cam shaft carried gear 13 which as above indicated carriesa number of teeth which is a multiple of the number with which the drivegear is provided, consists of a hub member 29 also adapted to be securedto the cam shaft by a key 30 or an ,equivalent means so as to providefor rigi ity and insure permanence, said hub member being provided witha web 31 for arrangement in overlapping relation with a'correspondingweb 32 of the rim or toot ca ing member 33, said of the hub memberpreferably bein spoked or cut away for reducing theweight. The hub webas described in connection with the drive gear bears peripherallyagainst the inner surface of the rim, but the web of the rim preferablyoverlaps that of the hub only adjacent to its outer edge a sufficientdistance to afford a substantial provision for the bolt openings 34 ofwhich a plurality may be provided, as indicated, for the reception ofthe transverse bolts 35 which permit of a progressive step by stepadjustment of the rim member to bring different zones of its toothedperiphery into engaging relation with the teeth of the drive gear at themoment of stress on the cam shaft particularly incident to the actuationof the picker stick. This adjustment permits of elimination of lostmotion in the communication of movement to the cam shaft withoutnecessitating the adjustment of the cams with relation to the shaft andhence without incurring the disadvantage heretofore experienced ofinvolving the sli ping of the cams on the shaft, so that t e cams may berigidly keyed to the shaft to guard against any relative displacementthereof.

In the modified arrangement illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings andwhich is designed particularly for use in connection with those loomswherein motion is communicated to the crank or drive shaft through .a.pulley or its equivalent located at the rear end of the shaft, asdistinguished from the front end or near the transmission gearing aspreferred in the more recent forms of looms, the hand wheel 19 may beprovided with a web 23' similar to that shown in connection with thewheel 22 of the preferred form' for attachment by means of the bolts 18to the web of the drive gear, so that when it is necessary to adjust thelatter angularly to bring fresh teeth thereof into operative position atthe moments of the maximum strains applied to the mechanism, it i o lnecessary to loosen the bolts sufiicient to remove the hand wheel inorder to release the rim member of the gear as described moreparticularly in connecti n with the preferred form.

What is claimed is.

1. In transmission mechanism for looms, the combination with a gearhaving an in ternal web positioned intermediate its side edges, the saidweb being formed with transverse openings and transversely projectinglugs, .of a hub member rovided with a web formed with a serie oftransverse openings to receive the said In hub being housed wit n aspace bounded by one edge portion of the gear rim, and a drive pulleycarried by the hub at the other side o! the said gear.

2; In transmission mechanism for looms, the oombination with agear havmga inthe said web of theternal web positioned intermediate its sideedges, the said web being provided with transverse openingsandtransversely projecting lugs, of a hub member provided with 5 a webformed with a series of transverse openings to receive the said lugs, adrive pulley having a web formed with an opening o receive the said hub,the said gear rim overlapping the said webs of the hub and drive pulleyand contacting therewith.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in the presence of awitness.

ANDREW J. LE

Witness GILBERT S. GATLEv

